For my post today, I’d like to link you to another SL blogger, Casius Masala, who has some interesting thoughts on this addiction we have called Second Life. Don’t let the title of his post fool you, he isn’t talking about hard core addiction.
I don’t think. 😉
Here’s the link to Casius’ blog.
Okay, you were probably wondering, dear Reader, when I’d get to this subject. Well, the fact is, I’ve been avoiding it, for a couple of reasons.
First, everybody writes about it, at some time or other, so I’m not exactly breaking new ground, here. Second, it’s a controversial subject, and I have tried to stay away from controversy; although I knew I couldn’t eliminate it altogether from these pages.
And third, I didn’t know how to approach it. I don’t want to end up with a tawdry post, although it’s easy to end up that way. I don’t want to write about this simply to tittilate, that’s too easy. I would really like to add something worthwhile to the discussion. So, how do I go about doing that?
I’ve decided that this is going to take more than one post. Also, I can use all the help I can get. Which, means that comments are welcome, dear Reader, as are questions and suggestions.
However, to start off, i know I have to get a few basics out of the way; like, how much do I really know about sex in Second Life?
Tell me, Mr. Lubitsch, have you ever engaged in sexual activities in your Second Life? After all, why should we listen to you if you haven’t?
An excellent question, and to the point. Yes, I have had sex in my Second Life.
Did you hire an escort, or have you had sex with someone without paying for it?
I should probably interject here, and explain that the term “escort” is the one used most often in Second Life when talking about someone who works as a prostitute/hooker/call girl, in other words, someone who grants sexual favors for money.
You’re avoiding the question.
Um, yes, I guess I am. Okay, I’ve actually done both.
Have you ever had kinky sex, or gay sex.
Define kinky. And, no to the gay part of the question.
Kinky would be, well…… Hmmm. Different people would define it different ways, I suppose.
Exactly! And that explains why sex in SL is such a tricky subject. There are so many different varieties, and so many different opinions on the subject, that it’s hard to get a handle on.
So, I’m not going to try in just one post. I’m planning on spreading this out. For now, let’s just say that the subject has been introduced. Watch this space.
Prims. They are necessary, of course, but they are limited. And sometimes it’s a real problem to whittle the number of prims you’re using down to size.
For the uninitiated, prims (short for primitives) are the basic building blocks of Second Life. Whether you’re building a house, a piece of jewelry, an animal, a tree, a gun, a pair of pants, or whatever else you want to create, you need prims.
Which wouldn’t be so bad, but you have to keep in mind that where ever you’re going to put this object that you’ ve created, the region that you’re in allows only so many prims. You can create an unlimited supply, you just can’t put an unlimited supply anywhere!
The same holds true if you’re renting someplace to live, or put a shop. You are limited to a certain number of prims in your space. That limits the amount of furniture (or shelf space in a shop) that you can have.
I’m curious. Do you, dear Reader, run into the problem of limited prims? And if so, what do you do about it?
Okay, folks, I’m back. Please let your friends know that Lubitsch Land is back up and running!
Hi
For the last few days, I have been without a computer, and will be for a couple more days. I’m limited to occasionally borrowing a computer, like I’m doing at this very moment. I hope to be back up and running ASAP.
In the meantime, I’m not able to be in world. Bummer!!!
I’ll see you all soon. In the meantime, don’t forget me! 😉
Well, I was able to get a lot of RL stuff done today, mainly because Second Life wasn’t available. The Lindens had one of their scheduled maintenance sessions, today, which meant that they disabled Second Life entirely. The (virtual) world, for six hours today, didn’t exist.
This is great for those of us who spend a lot of time in world. When the temptation’s gone, you have no choice but to go and do something you’re supposed to be doing. I know of many people who depend on these shutdowns as a way to get laundry and other chores done. Which tells you a lot about the level of interest (read: addiction) that people have in SL.
Yes, my tongue is in my cheek, but not very far. After all, there are a lot of serious activities going on in SL all the time. There have been charity drives, churches built, serious discussions carried out. And let’s not forget the commerce, which is disrupted during maintenance. But there is still a powerful attraction to being in world that very often works to the detriment of Real Life.
What do we do about it? A lot of us don’t do very much, or not enough. We sleep when we can, eat when we get hungry (how many of you keep snacks close to the keyboard?), say hi to the kids (and the spouse) when they walk into the room. And the ones who have jobs keep up with them—I hope! (Although I know of several people in SL who have the client installed on their computers at work and spend a significant amount of their workday in world. That will be covered in a future post. [I will not name names!])
I don’t see this changing in the foreseeable future. We seek that which makes us happy, or at least less miserable. And Second Life does that all the time. The status quo will remain so.
What do you do during downtime?
There is a thriving club scene in Second Life. No matter what your interests, you can find a club that caters to it.
Yes, I’m referring to what in RL would be called night clubs. You can find anything in world; and I do mean anything. Some of the clubs are very adult in nature, even kinky, but a growing number of them are just great places to hang out, listen to music, and dance. One such place is The Lonely Yak, owned and operated by SL partners Rocky Torok and Jane2 McMahon. I visited this club last Saturday night.
The music in the Lonely Yak is not like anything you might hear anywhere else. A mix of blues, rock, pop, country, and whatever else Rocky wants to throw in, it will definitely entertain you. And the dance balls are not the usual type, either
Since Rocky was busy DJing, I did most of my talking with Jane. She was friendly, articulate, and very laid back. She proved to be conversant with the SL music scene, which you need to run a successful club. She’s also open to everyone; although this club has its share of regulars, I get the feeling that there is a real effort to keep it from becoming a clique. She even spoke approvingly about the many non-English speaking folks coming into Second Life. I was interested to learn that she herself speaks three or four languages.
The patrons seemed to be the usual bunch of regulars that gravitate to these clubs. They were also friendly, and not all in their mid-twenties. I get the feeling that the median age is a couple of decades higher than that, which suited me just fine. I even made a new friend, which is always a plus.
The clubs are different than the concert venues I spoke about in earlier posts, because the music is recorded, not live. There is also more emphasis on the patrons dancing and otherwise participating, rather than just listening to the performers. Let’s face it, not everyone is willing to just sit and listen to someone else do something, a lot of folks like to enter into whatever’s going on. The clubs are an excellent place to do just that.
Once again, here is the slurl for: The Lonely Yak
Periodically, I’ll be updating previous posts on this blog as the situation warrants it, and also the pages in the sidebar, especially the glossary.
I hope you find the glossary useful; it’s been there since day one of Lubitsch Land. There are terms I use occasionally that someone who has never experienced Second Life (or any other metaverse or virtual world) will not know. From the first, I knew that explaining these terms would be necessary; as I use them, I’ve been adding them to the list. So, in just over a week since I’ve started, I’ve added terms at least three times. I’m adding again today.
If you see terms that you think should be added, please comment on them. I don’t mind a bit!
The other update that I’m doing today has to do with comments from other sites where some of these posts appear. Right now, there’s only one: SLprofiles.com. My post “Addiction? Or Not?” appeared there, and I received comments from four people plus there is a comment from myself. Those comments have been added to the post on this site.
Went to Kyle Beltran’s lounge, Meatspace, on Wednesday night. He has a very entertaining, very relaxed presentation. He sings and plays piano, and does both well. His music is jazzy, heartfelt, and fun.
His lounge is a good example of the kind of communities that can develop around such performers. There were a lot of regulars, everyone knew everyone else, they were all there to have a good time.
You know, this is the sort of thing that really makes SL special, but it never gets any press. Groups of people who get together with no griefing, no overt sex, no nudity, no violence, nothing of the stuff that’s been getting waaaaay too much publicity lately.
Instead, there’s fine entertainment, good feelings all around, and a relaxed atmosphere. I loved it.
Once again, Kyle’s lounge is called Meatspace, and it is located here. I recommend it.
What is it about lucky chairs that is so…
I was going to say appealing, but I don’t think that’s it. We’re drawn to them (or not, if we have enough willpower lol ) by something. What is it?
First of all, for the uninitiated, a lucky chair is a chair that lets you sit in it, but only if the initial of your first name matches a randomly drawn letter; at which point you win a prize, then get unceremoniously dumped from the chair. What fun! The chair then immediately picks a new letter. So, what is it that draws us to such crazy appliance?
Is it the quality of the prizes that you win? Um, no. While some of the high profile shops will put some of their best items in the chairs, for the most part the prizes are mere novelties. Do I really need a party hat, or a mop and bucket, or any of the other semi-cute things that I have won over my SL lifespan? Not really.
Is it knowing that I’ll at least get something, if I but wait long enough for my letter to come up? Not really. I’ve seen the wait be quite long, with a person’s letter being repeatedly passed up by others that are inextricably more frequent. Just last week, the person that I care about the most in SL was trying, with increasing frustration, to win a party hat for New Year’s. She saw other letters come up more than once, while hers was seemingly ignored. I finally gave her one that I had won; she accepted it graciously, but I suspect she really would have liked to win it on her own.
Is it because it’s a pleasant way to while away the hours? Well, it isn’t, always. I’ve seen some shops become madhouses when a particularly juicy piece of clothing is, literally, up for grabs, with large crowds of people waiting to pounce on the chair at the first appearance of their letter, regardless of who they step on to get there. And if there is more than one avatar with that letter? Whew! You’d better get out of the way.
It’s just one of those things. We do it for no demonstrably good reason, but we still participate.
And why would anyone actually have these chairs in their club or business? To increase traffic, of course, and to lure potential shoppers. Because when these folks finally get frustrated, or even while they’re waiting, they shop, and even buy, right there at the store.
I admit, I’ve sat in these chairs a lot, so I’m as guilty as anyone else, if guilty is the right word. Sometimes because I’m bored, and my letter came up, sometimes for the bragging rights (or complaining rights, depending on what I got). Have any of you SL residents had any experience with these things? I’d be interested in hearing about it.
Lubitsch Land 